It’s a Jungle Out There Kids!

Yesterday was Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day! This is a great day because there are a lot of adorable, fresh faces at the office, and the kiddos are learning about the real world of work. I always enjoyed bringing my kids to the office to help them understand what it is I really do in my day job. I do “policy”. This is really hard for people, even adults, to grasp what I really do. It’s not like being a pilot, or a police officer, or a waitress.  It isn’t implicitly understood what my function or output is. But I think what I do is very interesting and fun and important. Coming to the office gave the kids context for what my job is, and helped them appreciate how and where I spent my days.

Of course my kids are grown now, so I miss binging them in for the day. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy when my colleagues children come to the office. In fact I was very excited to learn that a colleague was bringing her two young boys to a meeting early in the morning. To make sure they had a productive day, I made them padfolios and business cards to help them get through the rest of the day.

These are super simple to replicate. I used a 8” x 10 1/4” piece of cardstock scored at 5” and 5 1/4”. I glued that to a small note pad to make the cover. Then I made a 5 1/2” x 4 1/4” Night of Navy mat. I stamped and used watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color the Animal Outing* stamp set  images on a 5 1/4” x 4” whisper white base.

I used a 5” x 5” square retired DSP and the envelope punch board to make the inside pocket that held the printed business cards. Assembly was quick and easy. Coupled with some crayons and the boys made it through at least one meeting taking “notes”.

*The Animal Outing stamp set is in the new Stampin’ Up! Catalog, and available starting in June. Sign up for my mailing list if you would like a new catalog when it’s available.

On Stage!

I’ve just come home from one of my favorite weekends of the year, On Stage!

On Stage is a twice a year creative refuel from Stampin’ Up! It is chock full of fun, crafting, and creative inspiration. Of course we do some business related work as well, but fun is the main event.


This past weekend, I got an exclusive early look at the new 2018-2019 Stampin’ Up! Catalog (Want one? Request one here). I got to try out some of the beautiful and innovative new paper crafting products headed our way. And I get to pre-order some of those products and will get to play with them for weeks before anyone else.

I met new friends and reconnected with long time friends. I learned new techniques and have a notebook full of ideas to share with you.

And I got spoiled. Seriously. Spoiled, with a capital S! So many treats and freebies. I can’t decide which are my favorites.

So stay tuned.  I’m going to be sharing so much of the On Stage awesomeness over the next few weeks, and months. And I’m planning to run out of ideas by the fall, just in time for the next On Stage (which BTW is the big 30th anniversary party for Stampin’ Up!).

Does attending On Stage sound like fun? Why don’t you join me in November? Contact me for all the details.

The Red Box Challenge!

If you’ve been following along, you already know that I love Paper Pumpkin. A beautiful and practical creative retreat delivered right to my door every month, for under $20. It’s awesome. But I will admit, sometimes the boxes don’t get emptied right away. I might do the greeting cards, but skip  the small gift enclosures or tags. I might need all of the projects for a holiday gift idea, or I might only use half of them. Of course the projects are just too pretty to get discarded. So they wait. In a neat stack. 

Because life happens, and we can let those boxes linger on long, Stampin’ Up! Has issued a challenge. We are challenged to open one of those red boxes in the pile and make an alternative project. That means make something different than the project the kit was designed for. This might mean turning a card base into a giftable treat, turning those embellishments into a great scrapbook page, or whatever your imagination sees in that little red box of supplies.  Once you’ve created your masterpiece, share it on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag (so its searchable) #redboxchallenge and you might become internet famous!!! 

Well ok, you might become Paper Pumpkin internet famous. Your project could be featured online by Stampin’ Up! And you might win the March Anniversary Paper Pumpkin FREE! 

So here is my Red Box Challenge project. I looove, love, love donuts. But the May 2017 kit had nine donut cards. I didn’t need nine donut cards. Now, this girl can eat nine donuts from Krispy Kreme without a second thought, but that’s neither here nor there. So I made a “mermaid” card instead. What do you think? 

Want in? Join Paper Pumpkin now.

Want to join the challenge? Here are the rules and fine print!

Snips, Snail, and a Bone Folder “Tail”

If you’ve been to the Cloth, Paper, String studio, you know that I have lots of tools and supplies to help you achieve your perfect crafting goals. I really enjoy sharing these tools and sharing in the fun of crafting all the things. But I’ve decided to make a slight change starting with this month’s paper crafting workshops.

In my cloth and string events, people are given a list of supplies that they need to bring to class. Now, for paper classes, I will ask crafters to bring their own paper crafting basic tool kit along to workshops. What is a paper crafting basic tool kits you ask (besides a mouthful)? Well it’s pretty simple, actually, and you probably already have the three most important pieces laying around your house. Of course it can also be pretty extravagant if you like, but I’m going to focus on three core items - scissors, adhesive, and a bone folder. Here are my favorites for paper crafting:

First, you need good scissors. And yes, they need to be used only for paper. I love the Stampin' Up! snips because they have a perfectly pointed end that allows for smooth fussy cuts around those stamped designs.

Second, you need a steady stream of adhesive to craft with paper. Now there are many kinds of adhesives, each with it's own special use. But most commonly you just need to adhere paper to paper and the Stampin' Up! Snail Adhesive is perfect. Plus, I always keep a stock of refills on hand if you run out during class. If there is a specialty adhesive needed for a workshop project, I will provide it. But over time, your adhesive collection will likely grow.

The last key paper crafting tool to bring along to class is a bone folder. It makes for sharp creases and flat folds. You can use your fingernail, but that gets tough after a few folds. Again, I love the Stampin' Up! bone folder. Especially the personalized* one gifted to me by a sweet friend this year. 

* Personalization was done after purchase by a third party and is (unfortunately) not available through Stampin' Up!

While I obviously prefer the Stampin' Up! versions, you are free to bring whatever your favorites are to class. But if you need a kit, you can get all three of these for just $24, when ordered directly from me. It can take a couple weeks for items to arrive, so plan ahead for your future workshop attendance. 

I can't wait to see you at the next workshop! And don't forget your kit. 

Happy 2018!

Whether you are celebrating or mourning the passage of 2017, A brand new year is an exciting time!  I love the blank slate of it, all of the potential ready to be appreciated. Are you ready for 2018? I am so ready.

We don’t make resolutions in our house, we set goals. One big goal in our family in 2018 will be the remodel of our kitchen, more on that later. I always have travel goals, and I’ve set a fitness goal of running a 5k in less than 30 minutes this year. The kiddos have their own goals related to school and such. And of course I have big goals for Cloth, Paper, String! 

With all these goals, it’s important to take some time to get organized and get your plan together. I’ve been busy with a lot of planning over the last couple weeks. For example, with our kitchen, we’ve spent years fantasizing about what we would like to change.  But after a series of issues with our current kitchen, we finally had to focus on reality. We needed a plan - what needed to happen, in what order, and final decisions on what we could realistically do with our space and budget. The same decisions need to be made regarding our other goals...what is realistic, what steps are needed to get us there, what does the end result look like? 

Honestly, with my busy family, I need a plan everyday. That’s why I’m a big fan of planners. And I don’t mean an electronic calendar, that just doesn’t work for me. I need to visualize it, write it, erase it, feel it, in order for my plan to work. And yes, I love to do lists that I can cross off. I just love the blank slate of a new month or a new week in my planner. 

That’s why I was so excited when Stampin’ Up! introduced the Love Today Planner. It’s pretty, practical, and a great tool for keeping me on track with all of my plans. And since it is undated, you can start on any month.  Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share some of my favorite planning and organizing tips. I would also love to hear your tips and tricks to stay on task and achieve your goals!so be sure to follow along and comment here on the blog, and on Facebook or Instagram. 

A Special Graduation

My daughter is graduating from high school this year! One would think by child number three that I would have all of these emotions in check, but each one has their own little special reason for making this big event a new experience. 

Besides being my talented artist child, who can spend hours with me in the studio, we share a special bond over her years of scouting. I've been her troop leader since kindergarten, and the few girls who are still in our troop have been together for over ten years. They've had many wonderful adventures together over the years, from giant spiders, to skyscrapers, to meeting the First Lady, to a grand tour of Europe! And these amazing young ladies are launching into the world this year. I couldn't be more excited and proud of them, and weepy about the time that has passed. 

The moment I saw the tee-shirt builder suite in the Spring Occasions catalog, I knew instantly what I was going to make for the girls graduation cards. That sash just cries out for some Girl Scout badges!

So I tinkered around with some of the buttons, stripes and other bits of the stamp set to build it. 

Of course, since this was a special occasion, I wanted to make the card extra special. I had been seeing all the lovely mechanical cards so I decided to give it a try. I had photos of the girls through the years so I picked a few from our biggest adventures to put on the panels. I was quite pleased with the results. 

I also featured this card fold at my May Stamp and Sip, with a more general decor scheme. It also turned out quite lovely. 

Here are the instructions for the mechanical fold. 

Start with a base of cardstock cut 4 1/4" by 11" and score at 5 1/2". Don't fold it yet, it's easier to work with when its flat. 

For the four panel insert, cut a piece of cardstock 3 1/2" x 10" and score at 2 1/2", 5", and 7 1/2". 

Fold a valley, a peak, and a valley. Decorate with mats of 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" paper. My photos were 3 x 2. 

For the mechanical peice, cut a 8" x 3 1/2" peice of card. Carefully mark both long edges at 2 1/4" and 5 3/4". If this measurement is off even a little bit, your card won't fold correctly. 

Score down the length at 1 3/4", and score on the diagonal between each marking. 

Fold along the scores. Fold lengthwise, then fold the diagonals so that the lengthwise "peaks" are facing each other under a triangle. 

Add tear tape to the triangle and adhere one side right in the center and nudge the point of the triangle just up to the fold of the base. Then adhere the other side by adding the tear tape to the triangle and then folding the card front onto it. That way you know it will lay flat and is stuck to the correct spot. This is the mechanical peice that will make the four panel piece unfold when the card is opened. 

Now take your four panel peice and hold it open and upside right. Fold it closed (valley, peak, valley). You should now have a "book-like" set with blank covers. Take the left side closed four panel peice and slide it under the mechanical piece's left "peak" and adhere the two together. 

Then adhere the right side to the top of the right mechanical peice

The panel piece will be crossed between the two mechanical flaps. 

Decorate the front as desired. Make a slider band with a 10" x 2" piece of DSP folded to size around the card and adhered in the back. 

There you go! A real WOW card for someone special!

Celebrating Dad

Now that Mother's Day has passed we turn our attention to making sure Dad has his own special day. My kids are lucky in that their Dad can fix almost anything. From refurbishing classic cars to remodeling our entire home, the Dad in our family is always working on a project. That's why the Nailed It suite from Stampin' Up! is perfect for our Fathers Day cards. 

I was so excited to win this stamp set as a prize patrol at On Stage Local last fall. But I was super bummed when I went to order the matching framelits in May only to discover they were sold out! As in gone. Forever. I learned my lesson; when I plan classes around sets in our mini catalogs, order them right away, not just in time. And that's a good lesson for all of us; if we love it, get it!  

Aaannyy way, I put out a desperate plea to my sister demonstrators and someone nearby was able to loan them to me so our class could go on. I'm so glad, because look how great these cards turned out!

I love this one because I can replicate it without the framelits. 

And, fun tip, when making random background patterns like I've done here, just put all the stamps on one block and stamp once. 

Now, here is the card I really had in mind since I first saw (haha, get it, saw?) the set in November. 

It looks very complex, but it's a simple box card. Just take a 4 1/4" x 10 1/2" peice of red cardstock. Score on the long, horizontal at 2 3/4". Then score on the short, vertical at 1/2", 2 1/4", 5 1/4", and 7 1/4". Cut away to make a tab on the 1/2" section, and above the horizontal line between the 2 1/4" and 5 1/2" scores as shown in the photo. 

Fold on the score lines to form a box, and adhere the 1/2" tab to close. 

Cut two 4 1/4" x 1" pieces of red card stock and score one half inch on each end. These will get adhered to the inside of the tool box to hold the tools. 

Cut two 3 1/4" x 1" peices of red cardstock and adhere to the front of the toolbox as drawers. 

Cut one 3 x 3 1/4" peice of designer paper (I actually used aluminum foil here) to make the back mat. 

Stamp, cut and decorate the the tools and greetings as desired and add to box. 

Voila, a perfect card for a handy Dad!